


Gone Forever

by HappGorl



Series: The Death of Sunshine [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Césaire Bashing, Angst, Batfam goes into a frenzy, Damian Actually Cries, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian reacts, F/M, Funerals, I found Tikki, Like Cursing, Lila Hits on Damian, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila’s a Bitch, Mild Language, Suicide Notes, Tim Drake is Sleep Deprived, like a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24524626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappGorl/pseuds/HappGorl
Summary: Oh my darling oh my darlingOh my darling ClementineYou are lost and gone foreverDreadful sorry, ClementineLight she was and like a fairyWas my darling ClementineThere’s a churchyard on the hillsideWhere the flowers grow and twineThere grow the roses, ‘monst the posesAre fertilized by ClementineIn my dreams, she still doth haunt meBut oh how I wish she was by my sideHow I miss her, oh how I miss herHow I miss my Clementine.Aka: Damian’s version of Dimmed Sunshine and more.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: The Death of Sunshine [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772287
Comments: 13
Kudos: 125





	Gone Forever

**Author's Note:**

> This is way longer than I thought it was gonna be, hence the gap between stories. I edited the song a little to fit with the story a bit, so please, enjoy!

When Damian wakes from the land of sleep, he immediately knows someone’s been in his room. He levels out his breathing, pretending to still be unconscious, and senses the air around him to see if whomever entered is there. They’re not. 

He sits up wearily, looking around his room, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Everything’s the same except there’s a closed box, and pair of sunglasses and a piece of paper on his end table that wasn’t there before. On top of the box was an intricate Chinese design that he knows he’s seen somewhere else. Eyeing the unusually familiar box, he grabs the paper instead. 

_Oh my darling oh my darling_

_Oh my darling Clementine._

The letter is written on regular notebook paper, the kind of stuff that you can buy in bulk for $2. But the thing that really stood out was the handwriting that spelled his name at the top. Marinette. 

_Damian-_

_I’m going on a personal mission today, so please don’t contact me. If I fail, I’ll call you tomorrow, and if I don’t… then this is the last time you’ll be hearing from me._

_I’m leaving Tikki and Kaalki with you so they don’t convince me not to take part in this mission of mine. If I do succeed, I’m leaving the Miracle Box with you because I not only trust you to be my Black Cat, but as my partner._

_Till the end,_

_Marinette_

Damian reads and rereads the note several times before her meaning sinks down into him. “Fuck!” He leaps out of bed, momentarily pausing to throw some clothes on and grab the things Marinette left, and sprints into the hallway. 

He races through the Manor’s maze like halls with ease, neither stopping or slowing when turning corners causing him to run into a sleep-deprived Tim when he nears the kitchen. As he passes his brother, he grabs the back of his shirt and drags him into the dining room where everyone else is still eating. 

Bruce looks up from the morning newspaper to see Damian barge into the room, pulling a choking Tim along. He sighs and goes back to reading. “What did Tim do this time?”

“Nothing.” Everyone looks up at him in bewilderment and he clears his throat. “Let me clarify that. Tim didn’t do anything _this_ time. Actually, it doesn’t involve anyone in the Manor.” Jason rolls his eyes. 

“If your freaking out because you don’t know what to get Pixie Pop for her birthday-”

“If you guys keep running your mouths, Marinette won’t see her next birthday.” Even Plagg looks up from his cheese plate. Now that he has everyone’s attention, he tosses the letter, the box and the glasses onto the table for everyone to see. “ _Somehow_ Marinette was able to get from Paris to here without anyone knowing. Not only that, but she was able to get into the Manor without setting off any alarms. How?” Plagg flies towards where the box and the sunglasses were laying and speaks solemnly. 

“This is a box of the Miraculous, and these are Kaalki’s glasses.” At everyone’s confused expressions, he continues. “Kaalki is the kwami of transportation. As for the box… I think that Bug put Tikki in there.” Plagg opens the box and a flowing pink orb flies out and circles him before fading into a very worried and very pissed off Tikki. 

“Plagg! Oh Plagg! Marinette cracked from all that pressure and not having anyone to talk to!” She turns to Damian and zooms into his face. “And you! If you haven’t stopped talking to her, this wouldn’t have happened!” She points a small paw at his nose. “Explain yourself!”

Damian blinks at the usually calm tempered kwami before answering. “I’ve been planning a surprise for my Angel. Gotham Academy started an exchange program with the schools of France, and I signed up to be transferred to her school. I’m still waiting to see if I got accepted or not.” Tikki pauses. 

“Oh. But that doesn’t make you not at fault here! Someone needs those sunglasses before we can actually do anything, though. You.” She picks up the glasses and brings them to Tim. “Your aura seems to be the right fit for Kaalki. Put these on.” Tim does as she says, not wanting to agitate her even more. Several seconds later a small horse pops in existence in the same manner Tikki did, but with a lot more sass and a lot less anger. Kaalki critically eyes Tim from what she can see above the table before remarking, “you don’t look like much.” She flips her mane over her shoulder and looks down her nose at him. “Hopefully you're less of an idiot then my previous holder. And they said _he_ was smart…” Dick hops in before the horse can say anything else to Tim. 

_You are lost and gone forever_

_Dreadful sorry, Clementine_

“So can you guys explain what’s happening with Sunshine? After reading this letter, one thing comes to mind, and I’m desperately hoping, no, _praying_ that I’m wrong.” Tikki shakes her head at him sadly.

“So, Dick. You’re quite right.” She turns to the rest of the people seated at the table. “Marinette is planning to jump from the Eiffel Tower.” Everyone jumps up and starts to speak, but she shuts all of them up with a glare. “I was also able to convince her to leave Kaalki with you guys just in case an akuma shows up in her… absence, but really it’s to transport Damian onto the Tower and stop her from taking that fatal leap. Who’s in?” Everyone in the room either nods or verbally quotes their agreement to the plan. Kaalki speaks when everyone quiets down. 

“I’m order to transform, say ‘Kaalki, Full Gallop’ and to activate your power say ‘Voyage’.” Tim nods and calls out the transformation phrase. The kwami disappears into the glasses and a blue light washes over the entirety of his body. When the light fades, he stands there fully dressed in a more black and brown version of his Red Robin uniform with a dark red trim. 

When Tikki nods from her perch in Dick’s hair, Tim activates a portal that leads to the top of the tower. Damian steps before the circle of blue light and takes a deep breath before stepping through. 

_Light she was and like a fairy_

_Was my darling Clementine_

The cold wind cuts through his sleep mussed hair, and he turns back to the portal, only to find it gone. But then he sees her across the platform, her thin and petite form braces against the wind. She’s looking down at the people below, as if she’s actually considering jumping. Nonononono. He quickly steps forward, reaching for her. “Angel?”

Marinette whirls around, her eyes wide with fright, and she takes a step back. Her foot hits empty air, and she starts to tip backward with her arms pin wheeling in the air besides her. “MARINETTE!” Damian sprints the rest of the way, but even before he gets to the spot she previously stood at, he knew. He knew he was too slow. Knew it was too late. Still, he grabs for his love, his everything, his reason for _living,_ as if he can save her. He’s not aware of the tears tracing paths down his face. All he’s aware of is that his Marinette is plummeting down to the ground, and cannot do anything to save her. 

Right before her back hits the concrete, her voice echoes through his head. _I’m sorry, my dove_. And then, for the first time in years, he lets himself let his guard down and cry. 

_There’s a churchyard on the hillside_

_Where the flowers grow and twine_

The next week is a blur. Lots of people come by the bakery whenever he goes over and offer their condolences to both Marinette’s parents and to him. But they don’t fully understand, they weren’t there. They weren’t there to see Marinette slip and fall through the air. They weren’t there to witness the sickening _crack_ her body made when she hit the pavement. 

When he first met Marinette, and they first got into a relationship, he wanted to shout out his love for her. Now, he wants to shout out how much he wants to die besides her. But as much as he wants to do so, he can’t. He has people back in Gotham that needs his help to prevent this from happening to other people. To make sure no one else has to deal with this heart-wrenching pain that burrowed it’s way into his chest. And the one thing that’s making it worse, is that her funeral is today. 

He almost refused the go. Almost. But he owed it to his Angel to watch her encent back to heaven. 

_In my dreams she still doth haunt me_

_But oh how I wish she was by my side_

And so, now he stands in front of a mirror adjusting his scratchy button down. He tries to avoid looking at his reflection and see the sleepless night piled underneath his eyes, tries to avoid thinking of the reason for those seemingly endless nights full of nightmares. 

_Marinette screaming silently as she slips backwards into thin air. Marinette’s look of acceptance as she realizes her fate. Marinete’s broken body after she-_

Damian shakes his head, pushing the memories aside. He turns away from his reflection and leaves the room. He passes through the small hotel room he’s renting for god only knows how long, only pausing to get his room card and his keys. When he leaves and shuts the door behind him with a small _click_ , he doesn’t hesitate to ride the elevator down to the lobby and out into the parking lot. No, the only time he hesitates is after he pulls into the churchyard, and places the car into park. 

The small church on the outskirts of Paris, with a hill beside it, is beautiful, so to say. Wildflowers grow wild and at the top where the ceremony is to take place and where Marinette is going to be buried, is an ancient weeping willow. And underneath is a wide crowd of people waiting for the ceremony and burial to start. 

_There grow roses ‘monst the posies_

_Fertilized by Clementine_

When he climbs to the top, he finds himself before her open casket. He finds himself looking over her still form, searching for injuries that seem to never have happened.

_Marinette screaming silently as she slips backwards into thin air. Marinette’s look of acceptance as she realizes her fate. Marinete’s broken body after she hit the unforgiving ground. The unnatural angle of her limbs, and the small trickle of blood running from her parted lips. Her once beautiful and sparkling bluebell eyes, now dull and lifeless while staring up at the sky._

He doesn’t recall moving away from her body and sitting in the back row. All that he’s able to remember is the way her body looked after her fall. But when he comes back, the priest is standing behind the Not Marinette, talking about how she was in a good place now. He again zones out, and lets the memories replay on repeat. He remembers the first pick up line he joking used on Marinette when they first started dating, now turned ironic. _Did it hurt when you fell from heaven, cause I swear I see an angel._ Then, she blushed a bright red. Now… she’s dead. 

He’s dimly aware of the rest of the people leaving to go home, until a couple of people walk up to him. Damian looks up from his lap and at the two familiar girls. The one with sickly green eyes and hair that looks like sausages sits down besides him and latches onto his arm. 

“What might a handsome guy like you be doing here?” She asks with a flirty grin. He shrugs her off his arm and stands. “Attending a funeral. What else would I be doing?” He curls his lips and looks her from head to toe and back up, disgusted that she has the audacity to wear such a revealing dress. “Cause I know for a fact that I’m not enjoying the view.” At that, he turns on his heels to walk to his car and where Sabine and Tim were lingering, but someone grabs his arm and spins him back around. 

“Don’t brush Lila off like that! You're lucky she’s hitting on you! She dated Damian Wayne and was practically adopted into his family!” The girl with glasses puffs her chest out in pride, and he arches a brow. 

“I think I’d know if I’d dated an idiot such as herself. I also think I’d know if she was one of my honorary siblings. So please, leave me the fuck alone and let me grieve over my dead girlfriend before I slap _both_ of you with lawsuits.” Again, he turns away and walks to his car. Behind him, the girl sitting down starts to emit loud sobs, and the girl with glasses kneels besides her to comfort her while glaring at Damian’s retreating form. 

With a nod to Tom and Sabine to confirm that he’s okay, he collapses into his car and shuts the door. He sits there, staring at the weeping willow we’re his beloved now lays buried underneath, waiting for everyone to leave. 

When the last car turns around the corner, he lets out a loud cry of anguish he’s been holding in for the last couple of hours. And not the first time this week and definitely not the last, he breaks down alone without anyone to comfort him. Because he only let Marinette do that. 

_How I miss her, oh how I miss her_

_How I miss my Clementine._

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys look up the lullaby ‘Clementine’, you’ll find it’s actually more gruesome than you’d think it would be. Dang, people actually sing this to their children.


End file.
